I Gave Him Ten Years, He Said I Didn’t Get Art Chapter 09

I Gave Him Ten Years, He Said I Didn’t Get Art Chapter 09

Every drop of color drained from Thomas’s face.

He stared rigidly at the box I’d pushed back to him, his fingers twitching uncontrollably with

nervous tremors.

“Holly, after ten years together-can you truly discard all of it without a single second thought?”

“If I’d clung to those memories, I never would have left.”

I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes directly.

“Do you honestly believe that all you need to do is show remorse and make it up to me, and I’ll drop everything to wait for you right where I stood before?”

“That’s not it at all!” He rushed to plead.

“I know I was terrible, selfish beyond words. I took every bit of your devotion as something I was owed, simply because we were married.”

“I let Mabel’s empty flattery and vanity cloud my judgment. I’ve sent her away for good. Every single thing she touched in our home is thrown out.”

“I genuinely understand my mistakes, Holly. Give me just one more chance, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

He even leaned forward, ready to climb over the counter and grab my hand.

I stepped one pace backward, dodging his reach.

“Thomas, Mabel was never the real problem.” I held his gaze, speaking each word slow and deliberate.

“Even if Mabel never existed, there would have been a Lila Quinn, a Sarah Quinn, anyone else.”

“Deep down, you’ve always thought I didn’t deserve the success and fame you’ve earned. You loved the way I looked up to you and tended to every one of your needs, yet you couldn’t spare a shred of basic respect for me.”

“You knew exactly how meaningful that red sandalwood was to me–you just never cared. You didn’t forget the promises you made-they simply never mattered enough for you to keep.”

My voice stayed steady, no hysterical outburst, no sobs.

But every word stripped away the self-deluding excuses he’d hidden behind for years, cutting hip open like a dull rusted blade.

Thomas squeezed his eyes shut in agony, hot tears finally streaming down his cheeks.

“Stop talking… Holly, please, just stop.”

His tall frame hunched forward, drained of all strength like an elderly man worn thin by hardship.

“I admit I was selfish. I own every mistake. Punish me however you see fit-just don’t walk away from me entirely.”

I watched him completely break down.

My mind drifted back ten years to the night he’d knelt on the thin mattress of our cramped rental, swearing he’d cherish me for the rest of our lives.

His devotion back then had been genuine. His regret in this moment was genuine too.

But the ten years of hurt and neglect stretching between us was equally unshakable and real.

“I don’t want to punish you.”

I plucked the fresh white rose I’d trimmed earlier and held it out to him.

“Take this flower. Consider it a gift marking the end of our thirty-day waiting period.”

“Go home, Thomas. Don’t make a scene here.”

I turned away from him and walked to the shop’s sink to wash out empty vases.

Silence hung heavy behind me for a very long time-long enough I assumed he’d left.

“Holly.”

His voice came out hoarse and broken, carrying the despair of a man with nothing left to lose.

“If I ruin my right hand and never pick up a carving knife again, would you forgive me?”

My movements paused mid-wash, the rush of running water echoing in the quiet shop.

I twisted to face him over my shoulder.

“Even if you tore your own heart out and laid it before me, it would still be nothing more than meaningless meat in my eyes.”

Thomas’s shoulders collapsed completely

The white rose slipped from his grasp and clattered sits the flur He made no move to pick it up

He grabbed the velvet box and stack of legal paper uff the munter, his footsteps heavy and unmeady as he stumbled out of the flower shop

The wind chime jingled again as the glass door shut behind him

1 fipped the clean vase upside down on the dying tack and wiped water droplets off my palmus with

Warm sunlight spilled across the wooden countertop, soft and gentle.

Imer glanced back toward the doorway again.